Apr 30, 2012

Virginia Tech Fires Basketball Coach

Seth Greenberg was fired as the men’s basketball coach at Virginia Tech on Monday, a decision athletic director Jim Weaver said he and basketball administrator Tom Gabbard arrived at last week as they assessed the state of the program.

The discussion came after a second assistant coach in two weeks, and sixth in four years, announced that he was leaving Greenberg’s staff, this time to take an assistant’s job at ACC rival Clemson. Associate head coach James Johnson, a five-year member of Greenberg’s staff, was offered a salary matching the one he was to receive at Clemson, but still declined.

“Coach Johnson came to my office Friday morning and told me that it had nothing to do with money, Weaver said.

Last week, Rob Ehsan left to become an assistant at Alabama-Birmingham, and was accompanied by director of basketball operations Jeff Wulbrun, who got an assistant’s position at UAB, leaving only John Richardson and Greenberg on the Tech staff.

Other factors, such as Weaver’s perception of the way Greenberg and his staff fit into the family atmosphere Weaver tries to promote for all his coaching staffs, also weighed into the decision, as did a desire to avoid filling out a staff for a short term.

Mr. Gabbard and I decided last week that one year from now, in 2013, we were not going to extend (Greenberg’s) contract at all, nor would we extend the contract the year after that, and because we have three vacancies now on our staff, it made all the sense in the world to us to move forward and change that direction of our program and hire a new staff that is going to be here, he said.

Seth Greenberg was fired as the men’s basketball coach at Virginia Tech on Monday, a decision athletic director Jim Weaver said he and basketball administrator Tom Gabbard arrived at last week as they assessed the state of the program.

The discussion came after a second assistant coach in two weeks, and sixth in four years, announced that he was leaving Greenberg’s staff, this time to take an assistant’s job at ACC rival Clemson. Associate head coach James Johnson, a five-year member of Greenberg’s staff, was offered a salary matching the one he was to receive at Clemson, but still declined.

Coach Johnson came to my office Friday morning and told me that it had nothing to do with money, Weaver said.

Last week, Rob Ehsan left to become an assistant at Alabama-Birmingham, and was accompanied by director of basketball operations Jeff Wulbrun, who got an assistant’s position at UAB, leaving only John Richardson and Greenberg on the Tech staff.

Other factors, such as Weaver’s perception of the way Greenberg and his staff fit into the family atmosphere Weaver tries to promote for all his coaching staffs, also weighed into the decision, as did a desire to avoid filling out a staff for a short term.

Mr. Gabbard and I decided last week that one year from now, in 2013, we were not going to extend (Greenberg’s) contract at all, nor would we extend the contract the year after that, and because we have three vacancies now on our staff, it made all the sense in the world to us to move forward and change that direction of our program and hire a new staff that is going to be here, ” he said.